Jig



Dec. 10, 1957 P. F. BOWMAN ETAL 2,815,700

JIG

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 25, 1954 INVENTORS PAUL F. BOWMAN OSCAR L. VINES ATTORNEYS United States Patent 2,815,700 1C6 Patented Dec. 10, 1957 Paul F. Bowman, Ridgewood, N. J., and Oscar L. Vines,

New York, N. Y., assignors to Alford Cartons, Ridgefield Park, N. J., a corporation of New York Application October 25, 1954, Serial No. 464,227

2 Claims. (Cl. 93-37) This invention relates to a jig for opening cartons provided with a multiplicity of partition members which fold downwardly and inwardly from the top panel of the carton.

There has been developed heretofore by one of us a folding carton which, when erected, is characterized by the provision along its top panel of a plurality of pairs of fold sections capable of being folded downwardly and inwardly into the interior of the carton. Each pair of fold sections is defined by a transverse cut extending across the top panel and into adjoining vertical panels of the carton and by a pair of oppositely bowed transverse fold lines terminating at the extremities of the transverse cut. The bottom panel of the carton is provided with a plurality of pairs of openings each of which is positioned directly below each side portion of the top panel adjoining each of the fold sections. The openings in the bottom panel are provided so that pins may be inserted therethrough up against the aforementioned side portions of the top panel and thus support these top panel portions while the fold sections are being folded downwardly and inwardly into the interior of the carton. Although these supporting pins make it possible in some instances (that is, with strong-skinned fruits such as apples) to push the fold sections downwardly into their opened position by merely pressing the fruit against the fold sections, there is nevertheless a tendency for this pressure to collapse the entire central portion of the top panel.

We have now devised a jig for opening the aforementioned cartons so that even the most tender skinned fruits may be inserted into the cartons without damage. The jig of our invention comprises a base frame having a plurality of spaced supporting pins struck up therefrom, the supporting pins being adapted to extend through the openings of the bottom panel of the carton and engage the inner surface of the aforementioned side portions of the top panel. The jig further includes a top frame movably connected to the base frame so as to permit reciprocal movement of the top frame substantially axially of the supporting pins. The top frame is provided with a plurality of pairs of substantially U-shaped plungers depending from this frame and aligned normal to and directly above the transverse cut line of the carton when the carton is mounted on the supporting pins. One of the plungers of each pair thereof is positioned closely inboard of the side Wall of the carton when the carton is mounted on the supporting pins and the other plunger of each pair is positioned further inboard of the side wall of the carton. The more inboard plunger of each pair thereof depends substantially further below the top frame than the other plunger.

These and other novel features of our jig construction will be more readily understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which Fig. l is a perspective view of the jig;

Fig. 2 is a perspective partial view of the aforementioned type of carton to be opened by our jig;

Fig. 3 is a perspective partial view of the jig showing the positioning of the carton;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing an early stage in the opening operation with our jig;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken along line 55 in Fig. 4 at a later stage in the opening operation; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the completely opened carton.

The jig shown in Fig. 1 comprises a base frame 10 at one end of which there are mounted a plurality of pairs of spaced supporting pins 11. Just beyond the area defined by the complete assemblage of pins are several upstanding guide members 12 extending upwardly above the level of the tops of the supporting pins and so spaced as to embrace the outer sides and ends of the carton. Thus, when the carton to be opened is placed within the confines of the guide members 12, the supporting pins 11 will be aligned with the corresponding openings in the panel of the carton.

The top frame 13 of the jig is movably connected to the base frame 10 in such manner as to permit reciprocal movement of the top frame substantially axially of the supporting pins 11. Thus, one end of the top frame is advantageously pivotally connected to the corresponding end of the bottom frame, as shown at 14, so that the opposite end of the top frame may be raised and lowered with respect to the bottom frame. The top frame is advantageously held in its uppermost position by a spring 15, and the free end of the top frame is advantageously provided with a handle member 16 so as to facilitate manual control over the reciprocal motion of the top frame toward and away from the base frame 10. The portion of the top frame positioned above the assemblage of supporting pins 11 is provided with a plurality of pairs of substantially U-shaped plungers 17 and 18, the plungers 18 of each pair thereof depending substantially further below the top frame than the other plungers 17 of each pair.

The pairs of plungers l7 and 18 are so positioned as to open the fold sections of a carton placed in position on the supporting pins 11, .and therefore the relative positioning of the plungers 17 and 18 can best be described with respect to the carton itself. As shown in Fig. 2, the carton comprises a bottom panel 20, two side panels 21 and at least one top panel. In the carton shown in Fig. 2, the top portion of the carton is actually composed of two identical top panels 22. These top panels are connected along their common boundary to a vertical center partition 23, and each top panel is provided with a plurality of pairs of fold sections 24 and 25. Each pair of fold sections is defined by a transverse cut 26 extending across the top panel and into the adjoining vertical panels and by a pair of oppositely bowed transverse fold lines 27 and 28 terminating at the extremities of the transverse cut 26. It will be seen, accordingly, that the two fold sections 24 and are adapted to be folded downwardly and divergently inwardly into the interior of the carton about the bowed fold lines 27 and 28, respectively. Thus, the portions 29 of the top panel between the endmost fold line 28 and the end of the carton and the portions of the top panel between adjacent bowed fold lines 27 and 28 of adjacent pairs of fold sections are not folded downwardly into the carton. In fact, these portions 29 of the top panel become upwardly arched when the fold sections are folded about their bowed fold lines 27 and 28.

In order to support the aforementioned portions 29 of the top panel which are not folded downwardly and inwardly into the carton, the bottom panel of the carton is provided with openings 30 arranged in pairs directly below corresponding pairs of the top panel portions 29. Thus, when (as shown in Fig. 3) the carton is positioned over the supporting pins 11 and is aligned with the pins by placing the carton between the guide members 12, the openings 30 permit entry of the pins through the bottom panel 20. When the carton is lowered on the pins 11,

which are advantageously somewhat longer than the height of the carton, the top panel portions 29 will rest on the tops of the supporting pins 11. And in order to conform still further to the final arched contour of the top panel when the fold sections 24 and are folded downwardly and inwardly into the carton, the outer portions of the upper ends of each pair of supporting pins 11 are cut away obliquely as indicated at 31 in Fig. 3.

The operation of the jig, after the carton has thus been mounted on the supporting pins 11, presses each of the fold sections 24 and 25 downwardly into the interior of the carton. The first stage of this operation is shown in Fig. 4. Inasmuch as the U-shaped plungers 18 depend further below the top frame 13 of the jig than do the plungers 17, the lower ends of the plungers 18 are the first to engage the fold setions 24 and 25. And inasmuch as the plungers 18 are positioned inboard of the plungers 17, the plungers 18 engage the fold sections 24 and 25 approximately at the point indicated by the arrow 32 in Fig. 2. As the upper frame 13 of the jig is further lowered, the lowermost dependent plungers 18 force the fold sections 24 and 25 downwardly into the carton and cause the end portions of these fold sections to fold in wardly along the longitudinal top fold lines 33 of the carton. Further downward movement of the top frame 13 causes the outermost depending plungers 17 to engage the fold sections 24 and 25 immediately inboard of the longitudinal fold lines 33 and press them firmly against the side walls 21 of the carton. After this downward movement has reached its lowest point, the upper frame of the jig is raised and the opened carton is lifted off of the supporting pins 11 in the condition that it appears in Fig. 6.

The jig of our invention is amenable to the rapid sequence operations required for large scale packing of fruit and similar articles in the aforementioned type of carton. In actual practice this device has been found to be exceptionally efficient and easy to operate without danger of turning out defectively or improperly opened cartons.

We claim:

I. A jig for folding downwardly and inwardly the fold sections of a carton provided along its top panel with a plurality of pairs of fold sections each pair of which is defined by a transverse cut extending across the top panel and into adjoining vertical panels and by a pair of oppositely bowed transverse fold lines terminating at the extremities of the transverse cut, said bowed transverse fold lines of said fold sections causing the adjoining portion of the top panel to be arched upwardly when said fold sections are folded downwardly into the interior of the carton, the bottom panel of the carton being further provided with a plurality of pairs of openings each of which is positioned directly below each side portion of the top panel adjoining each fold section thereof, the jig comprising a base frame, a plurality of pairs of spaced supporting pins struck up from the base frame and adapted to extend through the openings in the bottom panel of the carton and engage the inner surface of the lit aforesaid side portions of the top panel, the length of the pins being substantially greater than the height of the carton to be opened whereby said pins fully support said carton, a top frame movably connected to the base frame so as to permit reciprocal movement of the top frame substantially axially of the supporting pins, and a plurality of pairs of substantially U-shaped plungers depending from the top frame and aligned normal to and directly above the transverse cut line of the carton when the carton is mounted on the supporting pins, one of the plungers of each pair being positioned closely inboard of the side wall of the carton and the other plunger of each pair being positioned further inboard of the side wall of the carton, the more inboard plunger of each pair thereof depending substantially further below the top frame than the other plunger.

2. A jig for folding downwardly and inwardly the fold sections of a carton provided along its top panel with ,r, plu'rli y. of pairs of fold sections each pair of which is defined by a transverse cut extending across the top panel and into adjoining vertical panels and by a pair of oppositely bowed transverse fold lines terminating at the extremities of the transverse cut, said bowed transverse fold lines of said fold sections causing the adjoining portion of the top panel to be arched upwardly when said fold sections are folded downwardly into the interior of the carton, the bottom panel of the carton being further provided with a plurality of pairs of openings each of which is positioned directly below each side portion of the top panel adjoining each fold section thereof, the jig comprising a base frame, a plurality of pairs of spaced supporting pins struck up from the base frame and adapted to extend through the openings in the bottom panel of the carton and engage the inner surface of the aforesaid side portions of the top panel, the length of the pins being substantially greater than the height of the carton to be opened whereby said pins provide support for the arched portions of the top panel of said carton when the adjoining fold sections are folded downwardly into said carton, guide members struck up from the base member and extending above the level of the tops of the supporting pins so as to embrace the outer sides and ends of the carton and thus align the bottom panel openings with the supporting pins, a top frame movably connected to the base frame so as to permit reciprocal movement of the top frame substantially axially of the supporting pins, and a plurality of pairs of substantially U-shaped plungers depending from the top frame and aligned normal to and directly above the transverse cut line of the carton when the carton is mounted on the supporting pins, one of the plungers of each pair being positioned closely inboard of the side wall of the carton and the other plunger of each pair being positioned further inboard of the side wall of the carton, the more inboard plunger of each pair thereof depending substantially further below the top frame than the other plunger.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,586,551 Mobley Feb. 19, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 47,443 Denmark June 6, 1933 682,680 Great Britain Nov. 12, 1952 

